Charging-free electrochemical system for harvesting low-grade thermal energy
Abstract
Tremendous low-grade heat is stored in industrial processes and the environment. Efficient and low-cost utilization of the low-grade heat is critical to imminent energy and environmental challenges. Here, a rechargeable electrochemical cell (battery) is used to harvest such thermal energy because its voltage changes significantly with temperature. Moreover, by carefully tuning the composition of electrodes, the charging process is purely powered by thermal energy and no electricity is required to charge it. A high heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 2.0% can be reached when it is operated between 20 and 60 °C. Such charging-free characteristic may have potential application for harvesting low-grade heat from the environment, especially in remote areas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 17, 2014
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1415097111
Entities
People
- Daniel Kraemer
- Gang Chen
- Guangyuan Zheng
- Hadi Ghasemi
- James Loomis
- Seok Woo Lee
- Xiaobo Li
- Yi Cui
- Yuan Yang
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Stanford University
- United States Department of Energy